Stereotyping plant



Aug. 2a, 1928. 1,682,161

H. A. w. wooo STEREOTYPING PLANT Original Filed Oct. 27, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I '/////:IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII% I/II/[III/[11111111111114 Aug. 2a, 1928.

H. A. w. wooo STEREOTYPING PLANT I Original FiI ed Oct. 27. 1925' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 28, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. WISE WOOD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO WOOD NEWSPAPER MA- CHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

srnnnio'ryrrne PLANT.

Application filed October 27, 1925, Serial No. 65,209. Renewed January 5,- 1928.

This invention relates to a stereotyping plant involving melting furnaces and casting machines in co-operation with plate shaving machines. Heretofore certain large newspaper plants have added to their equipment until they have all the casting and shaving machines and equipment which under the previous plan they could get into the foundry floor space they have available. It has seemed impossible heretofore to provide any means by which any further expansion due to the natural growth of their circulation could be taken care of without reconstruction or enlargement of the buildings.

. This invention is designed for the purpose of solving this problem and adding very materially to the output from a given floor space in the foundry.

The invention involves the re-arrangement of the melting furnaces and casting machines with respect to each other and also the rearrangement of a unit consisting of a melting pot and two casting machines so that it can be backed up by a similar unit without taking up any more floor space laterally of the shaving machine than has been the case before. The result of this invention is that space is economized to such an extent that the number of casting machines in a given floor space can be practically doubled and additional shaving machines can be put in where, under present conditions, the addition of the shaving machines would not add to the output of the plant.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan of a plant of a newspaper foundry showing it equipped in accordance with the present invention; and v Fig. 2 is an enlarged view more in detail of one of the casting units showing in dotted lines how a second unit can be backed up to it and the whole occupy no more space in one direction than a single furnace and two casting machines as heretofore used and only a little more space in the transverse direction.

Referring to Fig. 1, a plant is shown which, under present conditions, would sup ply only enough plates for four auto-shavers A, but in this drawing I have shown seven auto-shavers A and A. It may be said at this point that it is not a matter of providing more room for the auto-shavers but of providing for supplying them with plates.

It will be seen that back of the auto shavers there are casting machines which can best be described in connection with Fig. 2. Here a melting furnace B is located with its long dimension parallel with the long dimension of the auto-shavers A with space enough in back of them to provide room for the workman to pass around, which latter feature, of course, has been necessary.

It has been the custom heretofore to place these melting furnaces with their long dimensions transverse to the long dimensions of the auto shavers so that if they supply two casting machines or boxes, each one would be located at the same distance from the auto shaver and be equally convenient for the manipulation of the plates. But I provide the melting furnace with a casting machine C at its end adjacent to the auto shaver A. This casting machine can be of the type called the Junior Autoplate,

as indicated, but formed with a straight side 0 abutting against the end of the melting furnace B. This leaves the side of the melting furnace B clear with a place for another Junior Autoplate C at the side. There are two pumps P and P in the melting furnace and each one delivers separately to its respective casting machine.

I do not intend to be specifically limited to any type of casting machine but have shown one in which there is a rotary core D and a reciprocable back E in both instances. a platform F. In each of these cases the platform is located adjacent the auto shaver 9 Here the plates are delivered on i A, that is, one nearer to it than has been the case heretofore and the other at a point as near it as any part of the casting ma chine. The melting furnace is provided with a flue G at one corner or elsewhere.

If only what has been described and what is shown in full lines in Fig. 2 is employed in connection with the single auto shaver located, as indicated in Fig. 1, the auto shaver is supplied with the product of two Junior Autoplate machines or other casting machines as desired. The product is produced at a convenient point for introduction into the auto shaver in both cases and there is no need of carrying the plates any great distance from the casting to the shaving machine.

This design provides a flat side Z) at the back of the melting furnace and the casting machine C is located so it does not project beyond this line. Therefore a second melting furnace B can be backed up against the furnace B as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and provided with two casting machines C also indicated in dotted lines. This doubles the capacity of the plant even if the same kind of melting furnaces and casting machines are used, as has been the case heretofore. Furthermore, they can supply metal to an additional auto shaver A, thus dou bling the capacity of the whole of this part of the plant. The introduction of another shaving machine at this point would not have been practicalif it had not been possible to double the plate casting capacity which has been done in the manner described.

It may be stated that under the old arrangement the room shown in Fig. 1 would accommodate four melting furnaces and eight casting machines and at the most five auto shavers, though four would be the normal number, the fifth one being used to take care of any surplus from the different casting machines. It will be seen therefore that I have doubled the casting capacity and largely increased the shaving capacity of this plant without adding to its size in any way and without occupying any more floor space except a little at the back of each casting unit. Under ordinary circumstances the capacity of a given plant or foundry room can be doubled by this invention without changing materially the character of the machines used.

This invention is of very great importance in this industry, Usually the foundry is designed to be located as convenient as possible to the press room and is practically surrounded on all accessible sides by the presses so that the foundry itself cannot be enlarged. The auto shavers of course deliver the product into the press rooms, and others can be put in between them as shown in the above description but the problem has been to suppl them with plates. Some newspapers are unable to enlarge their plate making plants which usually contain the fastest machinery now obtainable. If they cannot find any place for a complete autoplate machine they are very greatly hampered as to growth. \Vith my invention this difficulty is overcome without necessitating the production of plates in some inaccessible part of the newspaper plant so that all the present efficiency can be retained for the excess product pro-- vided by this invention.

I have shown no details of the casting machine but prefer to use the most efficient one heretofore designed, namely the automatic junior autoplate'machine which is capable of producing four plates a minute. It also is without the angle which has been formed in the present junior machine to fit the fur nace and therefore it will occupy less space when taken in connection with the furnace itself. It is to be noted that not only is the floor space economized so that a larger number of plates can be cast, but this economy in the floor space cooperates with the possibility of adding the auto shavers A and thus increasing tne output of plates finished and ready for the presses.

It is to be understood that as shown in Fig. 2 any one or more of these units can be set up as shown in full lines in that figure and operated in that way to feed one auto shaver until such time as the circulation grows enough to require another unit and then the machine shown in dotted lines can be added and the auto shaver added at the same time. This makes the plant very flexible and suitable for being adopted by papers which could get along for the present with the previous plant, the addition of the new machines being possible as the circulation grows, and only one new unit being added at a time. This obviously fills a want which numerous large newspapers have felt and it is also of advantage for a newspaper plant which at present has only one auto shaver and only a small space or none at all for adding the casting machines for supplying another.

Although I have illustrated and described only a single form of the invention I am aware of the fact that modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.

Therefore I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described but what I do claim is 2- 1. In a stereotype foundry plant, the combination with a melting furnace having two pumps therein for delivering metal, of a casting machine located at one end thereof, and a casting machine at one side thereof, said melting fumacebeingleft free at the back so that another furnace and its casting machines can be placed back of it.

2. In a stereotype foundry plant, the combination with a melting furnace, and two pumps therein for delivering metal, of a casting machine located at one end thereof, and a similar casting machine at one side thereof, said melting furnace being left free at the back along a straight line so that another furnace and its casting machines, formed in the same way but left handed thereto, can be backed up against it.

3. In a stereotype plate making plant, the combination with a melting furnace and a plurality of pumps inthe melting furnace, of a casting machine arranged to receive metal from one of said pumps located transversely with respect to the shaving machine and delivering at one of its ends, another casting machine located on the side of the furnace and receiving metal from the other pump and delivering at its end adjacent to the first casting machine.

4. In a plate casting plant, the combination with a pair of melting furnaces separate from each other but backed up against each other with their long dimensions parallel, two casting machines at the adjacent ends of the two melting furnaces, and two casting machines at the opposite sides of the respective melting furnaces.

5,. In a stereotyping plant, the combination with a pair of melting furnaces backed up against each other with their long dimensions parallel, two casting machines at the ends of the two melting furnaces, and two casting machines at the two opposite sides of the melting furnaces, each furnace beingarranged to supply one of each pair of casting machines with metal, whereby two shaving machines can be supplied with plates from two furnaces, the two casting machines supplied from each furnace having their points of delivery adjacent to each other.

6. In a stereotype plate making plant, the combination with a melting furnace having two pumps, a casting machine located at one end thereof transversely, a casting machine located longitudinally at one side thereof, each arranged to receive metal from one of said pumps, and having their points of delivery near one end and side of the furnace, and a shaving machine located substantially in alignment with the furnace and first named casting machine in position for receiving plates conveniently from both casting machines.

7. In a stereotype plate making plant, the combination with a melting furnace having two pumps therein, a casting machine located at one end thereof, a casting machine located at one side thereof, each arranged to receive metal from one of said pumps, and

a shaving machine located substantially in alignment with the furnace for receiving plates from both casting machines.

8. In a stereotype plate making plant, the

one of its ends adjacent to the shaving machine, and another casting machine located on the side of the furnace and receiving metal from the other pump and delivering at its end adjacent to the shaving machine.

9. In a plate making plant, the combination with a pair of stereotype shaving machines located parallel with each other, a pair of melting furnaces separate from each other but backed up against each other with their long dimensions parallel with the long dimensions of the shaving machines, two casting machines at the ends of the two melting furnaces, and two casting machines at the two opposite sides of the melting furnaces, whereby each shaving machine is supplied with plates from two casting machines.

10. In a stereotype foundry plant, the combination with two melting furnaces arranged back to back, of a plurality of casting machines arranged around said furnaces, and means for supplying metal from each furnace to a plurality of said casting machines.

11. In a stereotype foundry plant, the combination with two melting furnaces arranged back to back, of a plurality of easting machines located adjacent to each one of said furnaces, and a plurality of means connected with each of saidfurnaces, each for supplying metal to one of said casting machines.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

HENRY A. WVISE WOOD. 

